Seven Dark Riddles
by Nuzo
Summary: Xarren Alkra is a Hogwarts student with exceeding intelligence and magical abilities, being forced to go the way of everyone else. When his interests turn the opposite way, every single thing turns against him. Even the Gods.


I do not own the Harry Potter books and/or movies, or anything associated with them except for this story and others I have written and will write.

Full Summary: Harry Potter, Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore and Neville Longbottom are all well-known legends. Dead as they may be, the Light and Dark sides still war in their wake. The worst of the fighting has subsided, but its still there.

Hogwarts had increased its training and released every student that graduated as an Auror for the Light side. Dark magic was not accepted in the school, and any caught practising it would immediately be handed over to Azkaban.

Xarren Alkra is a Hogwarts student with exceeding intelligence and magical abilities, being forced to go the way of everyone else. When his interests turn the opposite way, every single thing turns against him. Even the Gods.

Note: The Slytherin room is now positioned where the Gryffindor 

I looked out the window, to the snow, and immediately noticed that there were red stains all over the white surface. No one noticed the blood but me. –Xarren Alkra from Seven Dark Riddles.

SALAZARSLYTHERIN

Xarren's eyes shot open and gazed past the darkness to the sleeping forms of his fellow Slytherins, and then to the clock. The red numbers flashed back at him.

_1:05…1:05…1:05…_

The magical power source must have been switched off due to the lightning.

Slipping out of bed and into a black cloak, the sixth year made his way down to the abandoned common room. It couldn't be any later than 3:00, if none of the teachers had turned the power source back on, but he wasn't going to go back to bed. He wasn't tired, and a storm had just started. How his classmates slept through it he had no clue.

Xarren pulled his hood up and silently opened the portrait hole, grimacing slightly as it slammed shut behind him. He was going to go to the library and read some books, since its hours had recently been elongated due to the raging war. The Hogwarts Headmaster, Yvus Dumbledore (an heir of the legendary Albus Dumbledore, surprisingly), didn't mind if students studied in the middle of the night, as long as they weren't caught. He didn't say this of course, but why else would he order the doors to be left open?

Xarren made his way down a flight of steps, ears and eyes searching for any distant sound. He was just lucky that old Peeves had evaporated a few years back. Having lived there even before Harry Potter, it was about time.

One of the steps at the base of the stairs creaked and the boy whipped out his wand.

"Is there anyone there?" came the familiar voice of the Transfiguration teacher, "All students are prohibited from leaving their common rooms until 6:00."

Xarren tucked his wand back into his pocket, and hastily jumped off of one of the railings. He grabbed onto the edge of the stair, hiding his knuckles behind one of the poles. If any of the teachers caught him, he would be in big trouble. Dumbledore seemed to have an odd disliking of him, even if most of the other professors loved him so.

Luckily, Xarren had experience with hiding from the staff. He had nightly expeditions to the library, searching for any kind of knowledge. He used any possible way to remain unseen, and knew his way through most of the corridors.

"I know there's someone there. Come out now, or I will have to use force."

Looking down, Xarren saw that an unfamiliar staircase had moved beneath him. He had never been on it, and there was a chance of it moving again, but he wasn't going to hesitate. An X-ray charm would put him in plain sight within two seconds.

He let go of the wood he had been holding onto, and tried as best as he could to muffle the sound of his feet hitting onto the stairs. It had been a long fall, and even his experience with bad Quidditch landings didn't stop the sharp pain from sliding up his shins.

Xarren cursed in Parseltongue, a language that had been passed down to him from Salazar Slytherin himself.

Footsteps echoed from the staircase above him, and he ran down the stairs as fast as he could. Not a good choice, he noted as he stepped onto a slab of stone that was sticking halfway out of the wall. He had stepped off of the staircase when it was in the middle of moving. It had looked as though it was going to stop!

So now, Xarren, who was in plain sight of anyone if even one torch was lit, had no choice but to follow the trail of crumbling slabs up to the closest ledge, which, he realized, had no stairs leading to it and none that looked as if they were going to.

He looked down the hallway he had come to and saw seven doors; three to the left, three to the right, and one at the very end. Intent on getting out of sight, he took a step forward –

A sound so loud he thought that a bolt of lightning had bolted past his left ear sounded, and everything blurred into patches. An explosion of pain burst through Xarren's head and a large red X appeared on the door at the end of the hallway. The pain increased, and he tried to yell out, but he seemed to have lost his voice.

TOMRIDDLE

"He was over there! You can see the ledge from the Slytherin staircase! I saw him fall, but he had his hood on! There was no way of knowing – "

"That's quite alright, Professor. I'm sure we will be able to locate the student before 6:00. There are many ledges before the hollow in the tower. I'm sure he is not injured."

It took a few minutes for Xarren to understand what had happened, and his present predicament. His head felt awfully light, and he noticed – after rolling onto his side and having his face slide into the puddle – that he had a rather large cut on his head and was lying in a pool of his own blood.

"The students need not be informed. I'm sure this is nothing but a small accident."

The Slytherin opened his eyes and found that it was still dark. Dark enough to stand and not be seen by Dumbledore or the Transfiguration professor. He did so, and felt his way further into the hallway he had come to, waiting for his eyes to adjust a little better. When they did, he noticed that the ledge he had apparently fallen off of was a perfect replica of this one, except that there was a light at the end of this hallway, instead of a large red X.

"We should dispatch all of the professors immediately, sir. There is obviously something wrong!"

"I assure you, Gregory, that all is well."

Xarren shook as his head throbbed with pulses of agony. He walked down the hall, stopping at the end and looking at the door to his left. The light was bothering him, but this door seemed to stand out more. He put his hand up to it, but was jerked back by something.

A hand on his shoulder pulled him through the other door, and he found himself in a rather dark room for the brightness he had seen earlier. Another bolt of pain wracked through him, and he stifled a curse.

His head hurt so much…He didn't understand anything that was happening to him. He felt so pathetic…what the hell was he doing? Who had grabbed him?

Xarren looked up through blurry eyes, and found himself squinting through a barrier of light. Behind it – or rather, in it – was a girl…her lime eyes smiled at him and she flicked blonde hair behind her back.

What was she doing? Why was she here? Who the hell was she?

He looked at something coming out from behind her back. With a wave of nausea, he realized they were wings, and knew immediately that something wrong was going on.

Even if any spell could force wings onto one's back, and a barrier of pointless light to consume one self's aura, how the hell would that person be able to keep up three spells, adding a golden ring over their head?

Xarren scrunched his face up in agony, and tried to sort his thoughts. He couldn't imagine why all this was happening, and couldn't help but think it was nothing compared to the war. The entire world of wizards knew about the war between good and evil - Harry Potter vs. Lord Voldemort…the battle that had started decades before.

There had been a prophecy, in which Harry Potter (the only man known to ever have survived the killing curse) was to kill Lord Voldemort, or Lord Voldemort to kill Harry. One was to become the murderer, the other, murdered. There had been a series of events when it had looked as though one of them was going to die, but this didn't happen for a long time.

The two made plans, allegiances, and Voldemort did most of the action. He was constantly trying to become immortal, and kill Harry Potter, who was attempting to graduate from Hogwarts and become an Auror, so that he could kill Voldemort. Eventually, all of the planning lead to the second main leader of the light side (next to Harry) to die.

Albus Dumbledore had been the main person to do all of the action on the Light side. He had begun to destroy the horcruxes, which Voldemort needed to survive. He had been helping Harry out ever since the boy's parents had died (he had brought him to his aunt's and uncle's). And when Dumbledore died, nearly the entire Light side fell apart.

Finally, the battle came in which Voldemort and Harry were to fight. It raged on for days – just the two of them chucking spells at the other. Neither of them seemed to become tired, and neither seemed to want to give up. No one was allowed to interfere, as the two opponents wouldn't stand for it.

Eventually, after nearly a week, the two tired and both retreated in the blink of an eye – each apparating back to their headquarters, where they could rest, and become strong enough to defeat the other. Priori Incantem had occurred quite a few times during the battle, and this had tired them very much.

After another year of practise and studying, the two rivals came face to face again. This time, though, Voldemort was younger – as young as Harry – and quite stronger. It seemed he had drawn the rest of his horcruxes back, somehow, and created a potion to reduce him to the age when he had been the most capable.

When they again came face to face with each other, both had been stretched to their most powerful forms of beings. Harry did well on his part, but, in the end, died at the feet of the Dark Lord.

Lord Voldemort resumed his murders of all of the muggleborns, but this didn't last for long. Immortal as he was, he found his mind constantly shifting to the thought of death and, having had enough of this limited world, died.

The causes were unknown, and no body was found. Some people believed he was still out there, but those fears had quickly died when he never came back.

"Xarren…" a light, faraway voice brought him back to his current dilemma, and he wondered if this girl was an illusion from one of the Sides, "Please…help us to win."

Convinced that this was all a trick, the wizard said nothing.

"Xarren…" the girl repeated, "The Lord has sent me to ask…for your help…"

"Voldemort, you mean?" he glared, "I will take no sides."

A sad expression found its way onto the other's features.

"God has sent an angel to ask for your help," she said, "Please tell me…will you help?"

Xarren said nothing, but looked her over. An angel? But those were only myths…one of the Sides was truly becoming desperate. Even if there were a 'God,' he would not care for a pitiful battle like this. Many creatures had died out before wizards, with no help from the Heavens.

"This war has gone too far…it affects even death…"

Xarren looked up at her words. She seemed so convincing to be God's angel, but, even if she was, he stood by his words. And if she wasn't…if she was from the Light Side, well…being expelled from Hogwarts was the least of his worries.

He watched her in silence for a moment, then said, "Well, then. Tell your 'God' that, if he wants me on his side that badly, he has to come and get me himself."

"But, sir!" the angel started, "The Lord can never stray here…please –"

"Then tell your Lord he'll have to find someone else."

Xarren turned to leave, but the angel said, "You are the only one, Xarren Alkra. Only you have the power to side with the Gods. They gave it to you at birth. If you say no to God, you say yes to the Devil."

A short silence followed, and the atmosphere in the room changed drastically.

"Then I'm sure Satan will be very happy."

LORDVOLDEMORT

Hope it was okay…though I doubt it will be read…I would never read an OC adventure story! It will get better, anyway!


End file.
